The last couple of years have seen many changes on the SEO front. First we had the Google Panda update, then we had the Google Penguin update and now we have been seeing the effects of the EMD or "Exact Match Domain" Google update.

Each of these updates were used to weed out the efforts SEOs who were manipulating the Google index so as to push their sites into higher SERP positioning than they would have received naturally.

So does this mean that its all over for the SEO industry? Are SEOs still pitching their game little more than internet marketers just looking to cash in on old school thinking?

To a degree…yes. SEOs pitching high dollar search engine optimization services and charging you for them are playing the internet marketing game for sure.

How Do I know If My SEO Is Gaming Me?

Ask yourself this question: Are they selling me guaranteed rankings? If the answer is "yes", then its probably a scam. No one can guarantee rankings…OK…maybe if its a super-low-competition keyword.

Ask yourself this question: Are they selling me "X" number of links, "X" number of articles, "X" number of social bookmarks, "X" number of web 2.0 properties? If so, then there is a good chance they are simply dumping what "used to work" on you and charging you handily for it.

Yes SEO Still Works

But not like it used to. SEO after recent updates requires more skill and patience than it did just six months ago.

Additionally, sticking to the basics are a must. What are the basics? Well I’m glad you asked. The basics are:

• Unique and Useful Content – Blog posts like this one are what come to mind. I use the term "blog posts" and "articles" in the same way. They’re the same thing. Whatever you call them, you should add them to your site regularly, daily if possible, if not, at least weekly at a minimum.
• Newsletters and Mailers – An absolute must. If there is anything recent updates have taught us its that you have to diversify your traffic sources…SEO, Newsletters, Social Media, Services…the more inroads you have, the better
• A Strong Forum Presence – I am actually pretty big on this because I have seen strong marketers do very well with forum marketing and I am a big believer in it. People come to forums to ask questions and it is a great place to learn about interacting cordially with potential customers. You can really refine your marketing game in places like these.

List Building Should Be Your Biggest Priority

By far, list building is the most important aspect of internet marketing and should be the sole focus of SEO, SEM and Social Media.

The ability to re-contact individuals who have visited your site is invaluable and will ultimately make a huge difference in your traffic numbers.

Currently, we maintain email contact with visitors to this site in three different ways: our newsletter, our autoresponder series and courses, and correspondence using our CMS script.

All three of these have been fundamental to our success. SEO efforts should be specifically used to build these up.

Why USE SEO For List Building?

Here’s why. For most website owners, one out of three visitor will revisit your site, and that’s only if you have awesome and epic content, and ueful products and services. Make it your number one goal to boost your returning visitor percentage.

Customer and visitor returns are key to growing your business and the only way you can achieve this is by inviting them back on a regular basis…using email!

Build Your List With Premium List Magnet

I use Premium List Magnet on my sites and I absolutely love it. It give me the ability of place an optin form easily on each and every page of my site.

It give you the ability to add a non-intrusive slide-up at the bottom of each page and it gives you the ability to manage different campaigns which can be rotated or set to be shown on specific pages or posts on your site.

If you are looking to build a list and you run WordPress and you want to try it out: HERE IS A FREE COPY OF PREMIUM LIST MANAGER LITE FOR DOWNLOAD!!!

Definitely try it and start building that list immediately! If you don’t have an autoresponder, GetResponse offers the first month free. Try it!

Mark Thomas

Mark is the Administrator of TheBitBot.Com News Articles For Ezines and Chief Editor of the TBB SEO Newsletter. Writes. Scripts. Hacks. Cracks. Re-Writes. Mods. Practices SEO of ALL shades. Has Some “VERY SMART” Friends Boldly Experiments. Publishes. Moderates. Trains. Explains. Pursues Three Important Careers Simultaneously. If you are interested in submitting a guest post with us then simply [ click here ] and sign up for a free account. Then simply submit your guest post there.